"Welcome, David, we welcome to our company! I'm Jerry Yang, and this is David Filo." Jerry quickly got rid of his disbelief and smiled while introducing himself and his friend.
While they were talking, Thomas also walked over. As they were the ones who spoke on the phone, the two greeted him enthusiastically.
"Mr. Frost, we didn't expect that the first person who would find us was even younger. Thank you for seeing the potential of our company."
"Of course, I have great expectations for the future of this company, and I hope that I can be a part of it."
Soon, they were invited inside the room. The room was spotless and organized, and just as expected, it is only the size of a small studio room, just enough for a few people.
From the books and sheets of papers neatly arranged at the corner of the table, it was obvious that they basically stayed here for most of their days.
"It's fine. Don't worry. I understand that we are only in the start-up stage of the company. Everyone will experience their own problems and challenges. Soon we will also be able to relocate to a bigger and better office."
Seeing the slight embarrassment of the two founders, David quickly spoke out, instantly removing any awkwardness between them.
"You're right, Mr. Frost! This is only temporary. Once we have some funds, we will be moving to a better office and buy several key types of equipment. This is only a tiny setback!"
Naturally, David didn't forget his purpose. He wants to be a huge part of Yahoo's success and benefit from the great returns it can give him while leaving his name in the history of Yahoo.
And he just knows how to convince them with a few great ideas in mind.
Soon after they all found their seats, the two founders started immediately.
"This is all the documents about our company, including some key information about our webpage." Jerry Yang handed several files to David.
Thomas was the person in charge of the legal documents, and David looked through the company plans to understand their current state and general direction to get a better picture of how he could win them over.
These two founders were the original creator of Yahoo, dropping out of university to pursue entrepreneurship. They are not a bunch of stupid people. David needs to offer them something they couldn't ignore.
While reading the documents in hand and listening to some of their clarifications, David was surprised to see no company revenue, not even a single penny.
Of course, how can David not remember one of the most annoying parts of the internet, unwanted advertisements.
Advertisements are obviously one of the most important revenue streams for internet companies, which would be an integral part of future internet giants.
Luckily, the Internet is not a mature industry yet, and companies were basically just trying out new business ideas to discover the next big thing.
They have no idea about the future at all.
David communicated with them, trying to feel whether they have any idea as to how they can survive in the future.
However, aside from saying that they genuinely believe that the internet has infinite potential, they still don't know how to grow their business.
The problem is the absence of funds. But they are also aware that even if there were to receive investments, they would need a way to obtain revenue.
At the end of the day, they are a business.
Companies that will continue to lose money with no business strategy and future plans could only fail and disappear through history.
...
David faced the happy two founders at the door of their office shaking their hands and nodding attentively at their words.
That is it for today.
Looking through all the files can not be done for a few hours, so they have agreed to continue the talks the next day.
Both sides felt good about the prospect of investment. David has to pretend to understand the status of the company seriously. In reality, he didn't care much.
The future of Yahoo is already a huge success, and it was all done without him, so he has no doubts about the company at all. Only, he needs to show that he's thinking very seriously about the investment.
At the end of the meeting, David decided to give them a little sweetness to attract them further.
"Mr. Frost, thanks for taking the time to come to the company."
"Don't worry, this is nothing. Also, I think I have a way to give the company a reliable source of revenue, but we can talk about it tomorrow."
"..."
"Mr. Frost, if your idea is really viable, then maybe we really have a chance!" Both of them tried their best to be calm but couldn't help but look at David with scorching eyes.
Profit means everything to a company. This alone can determine whether they are going up the road of a bright future or down the path of gloom.
Every company in the world has a source of revenue or even multiple streams of revenue. After all, for companies, revenue that can translate to stable profits is the most guaranteed way to grow.
...
The next day, along with the enthusiastic greetings of the two founders, they continued the talks inside.
David doesn't have any problem with money currently. No matter how much shares they let go, he can eat it all.
After all, this is Yahoo, a huge gold mine that he had first discovered. In the future, when the company needs another funding, his equity will definitely be diluted, so the more he can get now, the better.
The two founders simultaneously nodded and agreed to his general proposal about the possible investment. The specific details can be discussed later.
Next, seeing that they were so excited, David made a speech according to the general direction of the future Yahoo. He put forward several growth strategies, web designs, and the idea of monetization through online advertisements.
David spoke about the topic and addressed how useful they will be, and stressed how much profit it could contribute to the company.
Some of the ideas were even stolen from Google, like profiting from some search manipulation, giving priorities to some companies over another to receive more unique engagements.
Large companies would not hesitate to spend money to get an advantage over their competitors, and they can capitalize on this specifically.
For the entire night, the room was filled with voices and never-ending whispers.
Several old ideas were put up and wrapped in pretty words, earning David the admiration of everyone.
Honestly speaking, it wasn't too hard to win the two founders over.
Not only did David give them a clearer picture of their company as if he knows everything about it, but he also gave them a bright future.
If every investor were like this, founders do not need to rack their brains and have sleepless nights for great ideas.
The two founders enjoyably joined the discussion, happily asking questions and learning new concepts from David.
...
"It's almost morning. We can talk on another day. I can't continue anymore. Good night."
David and Thomas quickly walked out of the office to go back to their hotel for some rest.
On the other hand, the two founders went back to their written notes and excitedly discussed them with each other.
Today's meeting gave them a lot of inspiration, and they never stopped taking notes for fear of forgetting it.
Even though their eyes were already red, they never stopped their work, continuously discussing and improving their company plans.
Maybe this is why they are successful.
They never stopped working because they are not considering this as their job. All of this is simply the product of their hobby, and they are very passionate about it.
It was only until the sun rose from the faraway sky that they decided to stop. The room was gradually illuminated, revealing the messy papers all over the table.